SASSE Network

Woking Wise

CoCO

WHAM

Walton

West Byfleet

East Elmbridge

Hospices:

Princess Alice Hospice

Woking Sam Beare Hospice

Non-acute hospitals:

Woking Community Hospital

Walton-on-Thames Community Hospital

Molesey Hospital

Runnymede Hospital

Woking Nuffield Hospital

Community Children's Nursing Team

• The deceased was not seen by a GP and/or the GP cannot offer a cause of death

• The death occurred following a fracture/operation or the patient did not recover well  

  post-operatively

• The death may be related to the deceased's previous employment

If the patient's death has been directly notified to the Coroner by the Police, but the death is natural, the coroner will email the GP Practice (copying in the ME office) and ask if an Attending Practitioner can offer the cause of death and is qualified in completing the AP MCCD (please follow the instructions in the coroner's email).

If an attending practitioner is identified, the coroner will issue a CN1A which confirms that the Coroner is not under a duty to investigate a death under section 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The AP can now proceed in completing the MCCD which must be sent on to the MEO for countersignature and the ME officers will scan the MCCD to the Surrey Register Office and inform the family to proceed with registration.

The coroner may also contact the Medical Examiner's Office to conduct a review of the death in exceptional circumstances and where an AP is not available to sign the MCCD, the Medical Examiner may be able to complete a ME MCCD.

In line with the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Notification of Deaths regulations still apply and should you wish to refer directly to the coroner, please use the Surrey Coroner portal on the address shown below:

• surrey-portal.coronersconnect.co.uk 

• GP Community Death referral checklist with last 6 month EMIS consultation notes

• GP Summary

• MCCD

Please ask bereaved families to use below link, in order to book appointment with register office. Registration is still face to face:

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/birth-death-and-ceremonies/register-offices

or please call on tel: 0300 2001002

However, attending practitioners (doctors) involved in making the coroner referral are able to apply to the coroner as follows:

• Go to the Surrey Coroner Portal :WPC Coroners Portal

• Go to 'Search' and 'All Referrals'

• Look at ‘status’ column

• If ‘discontinued’, the pathologist has issued an MCCD after PM so it was a Natural CoD (if 'closed, no duty', a CN1A has been issued and the doctor can complete the MCCD)

The referring doctors can then apply to the coroner's office for a copy of the post mortem report, which they are entitled to under Chapter 12 'Disclosure of Documents', para 46 of the Coroners Bench Book:

https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/disclosure-of-documents/

If an inquest has been opened, the options are to:

1. attend the inquest https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/birth-death-and-ceremonies/death/coroner/inquests/upcoming-hearings  or

2. wait until it is concluded and attend the coroner’s court in person to request a view of the Record of Inquest (which they can photograph)